And just because you're an atheist DOES NOT MEAN that you're a satanist. That bull. An atheist believes in a absense of religion. If you're a satanist you therefore, by definition, believes satan is lord.

Satanism is a word which has been used over the years to describe a number of different belief systems in a number of contexts. People claiming to be Satanists—or outsiders claiming to describe Satanism—ascribe a wide variety of beliefs to Satanism. These range from the literal worship of a malevolent spiritual being (Theistic Satanism); to a kind of subversive ritual performance stressing the mockery of Christian symbols (most notably the Black Mass); to the claimed rediscovery of an ancient but misunderstood religion (e.g. Setianism, which conflates Satan with the Egyptian god Set); to the exaltation of hedonistic recreation, and the celebration of selfishness and pleasure.

at various times in history powerful organisations based on doctrine (the two main christian branches are examples) have considered that thorns in their side or anomalies to their illogic, can be easily persecuted and disreputed by accusing these anomolies as being the worst thing that the mass could contemplate (people who did not agree with this persecution would normally be so frightened by the consequences of objecting that they would keep quiet)
In theory anyone who was not in the christian religeon was a heathen......someone who practiced their spirituality rituals upon the heath....pagans......this title was also bestowed upon other peoples such as south american natives it is probable that at least 2 million of them were killed as heathens or pagans or witches
people within the christian church who had different opinions were also sometimes denounced as heretics, and could also be burnt for being in opposition to the church.

Pagans naturally on the whole venerate the whole cycle of birth death rebirth......i.e. with life comes death.

Later on as the churches power wained and industialism married with capitalism and commerce formally (with the church only being a kind of poor partner)
There still existed social mores that libertarians and hedonists objected to.....someone like crowley fixated a bit on non-christian mythical lore stuff that seems to be the most anti christian church....so there would be sumerian and eygptian (especially) underworld, necro, apsects to it as christianity had particularly objected to these....this is all fine we all like a rebel, unfortunately it was mostly when the most evil powerful excesses of the church were over, crowley explored/investigated as an alternative structure and religeon alternatives to the church, he built from various sources a kind of new mythology, much of its resonance comes from christian church paranoias and what they had tried to avoid, in fact I believe that in a strange way what the church had previously avoided help shape his own thoughts.

The problem with all this is that the churches actions were not in any way logical or resoned (other in trying to maintain things the way they wanted) in any way there was not an underlying thing they were trying to avoid.

This is what I would define as satanism really .....anti christian......basically stick a cross upside down and hey presto the remnants of social church led hang ups about sex or whatever are removed....you feel free? Of course this is given more 'authority' (because still most of the world needs a 'BIG MAN' and a BIG BOOK like the necronimicon or archives .....existing sumerian or eygptian mythology to really believe in something)

Humans have certain phsychological make ups that produce certain emotions and responses, various doctrines/religeons/philosophies sometimes capture people when they are going through a personal deep phase of revelation, when this happens a person naturally associates these things with that creed to an extent.

This has happened to me, however paganism is not as imprisoning as others, it can let you appreciate that others may have similar experiances under different creeds.

As opposed to satanists, pagans should try to just live as they should irrelevant of the fact that millions of them have been persecuted and tortured to death by a state sponsered christian church, yes its a facet of human history, but just because a church that has been incredibly fixated on torture and killing (actually exploring the darkness of extreme torture far more thouroughly than people like crowley satanists)

Doesnt mean that the percieved teachings of jesus (be brave, truthful, stand against authority when its wrong overturn tables if you have to, wealth is not necessarily good, help those that need it etc etc ) are rubbish, just because that a powerful oppresive cruel organisation (the christian church) misappropriated jesus, doesnt mean that what jesus said was rubbish.

I would urge potential satanists that that viewpoint largely gains it 'kudos' merely from the fact that there was a nasty nasty christian church, which by its many denials of all that is natural and pure, and its arbitary labelling of things 'good' or 'evil'.

I realise that there are always specialists or people who favour some aspects over others in pagan societies but it is a far more natural spread.

One gets the impression that satanists are trying to make up for the church, but that is just like positive discrimination......lets discriminate against oxbridge whites so we fulfill our quota type of liberalism

(Yes I know a lot of satanists were spawned from within deepest catholisism....maybe even torquemada.....but doesnt that mean you are really a branch of christianity?)

Of course by wearing satanism as a badge, by buying a paperback necronimicon, being into death metal you will indeed manage to shock shallow social niceties, but that wont shock me, neither would random acts of nastyness or burning down churches, or some sadistic acts.

Instead you should find out more about your own cultures beliefs before it got steamrollered by the christian church, consider how your ancestors might have struggled not with niceties but with real life and death and horror which may have been a daily reality for them far more than the detestable comfort and ease in which we delude ourselves nowadays

I do not mean to offend anyone out there (cos you are a bit scary) but I think that you should try to escape from the legacy that the christian church has left on you

(I do understand that you might think that satan comes from shaitan man of underworld etc, but you must also realise that that name was picked out and emphasised by the christian church as well, there are many other underworld deities. Hecate and Tiamat particularly spring to mind)

its just like a rational resume of the thing, so it might be a bit leik educational, except without facts, oh well the action of writing them pleases me, even if they're not read.....it gets things off my chest.....stops me shouting at the telly

and compared me unfavourably with children of the queen, I didnt think quick enough to compare her with the queen though..........dont worry bout it too much my mum has no recollection of this, I think that parents go through a bit of loathing their offspring, when they are just 'dissappointed with the way you've turned out'